Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Hopscotch
Prompts: "Hello, you beautiful thing." (dialogue), Hogwarts (location), Christmas (word), thunder (word), box (word)
W.C. 369
Friend Riddle?
Students of Hogwarts were sleeping soundly in their dormitories, oblivious to the storm outside. As thunder and lightning played across the skies, a silhouette of two people could be seen from the grounds, as they passed by a window, making their way to the dungeons.
Before Hagrid could open his mouth, Tom shushed him.
"Quiet," Tom said in a whisper. "Or you'll wake the portraits up."
Hagrid closed his mouth. The least he could do was to agree to whatever he said—after all, Tom had been helping him find a hiding place for Aragog.
The pair went down to the dungeons where Potions class was held. Tom pulled open a door to a small broom closet, which was hidden in the shadows.
"I brought him here," he told Hagrid. "I think the Hufflepuffs were having some suspicions."
Leaning forward, Hagrid reached out for the box, and opened it.
"Hello, yeh beautiful thing," he whispered, looking at the eight-legged creature lovingly.
"Hello, Hagrid," Aragog replied. "Tom brought me here. I like this place."
"You know very well, that I'm going to keep the secret only if Aragog doesn't hurt anyone," Tom said.
"Aragog won't hurt anyone, would yeh, Aragog?" Hagrid said, to which the beast replied in a negative.
As Hagrid rummaged through his pockets, Tom Riddle let a small smile play on his lips. Rubeus Hagrid was too innocent for his own good.
"Here," said Hagrid, producing a handful of sausages. "Nick'd it from Christmas dinner, all for yeh!" he said, grinning at Aragog.
While the Acromantula happily munched on the food, Hagrid thought of the day when he had found him first. He was just an egg, at that time—a discarded egg. He had taken up the responsibility to be a parent to the orphan, and now, here they were—the best of friends.
He knew Tom's fears were reasonable—after all, almost everyone thought of Acromantulas as evil beasts, but he knew Aragog won't hurt anyone.
He believed that Tom knew it as well, and that's why he had allowed Hagrid to keep the egg which he found during a detention with Riddle—and had even helped him at times.
How very wrong he was!